Wear plate assemblies

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates generally to a wear plate assembly including a front striker assembly  10  having a pair of opposing front stopping members  12  and a front striker member  14  all being detachably mounted to a draft sill  16  of a conventional construction. A pair of opposing rear stopping members  18  are also detachably mounted in the draft sill  16.  The front and rear wear plates  20  and  22  are detachably fitted to the front and rear stopping members  12  and  18,  respectively. A draft gear assembly  30  together with a follow plate  32  of a conventional construction housed within the draft sill  16  between the front and rear stopping members  12  and  18.  A yoke  34  longitudinally encircles the draft gear assembly  30  and a connecting pin  36  engages aligned apertures in the yoke  34  and a coupling member  38.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a striker assemblyadapted to mount to a draft sill of a railway vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Railway vehicles are linked by interlocking or bar couplingmembers which are each operatively coupled to a draft gear assemblywhich is housed within a draft sill. The draft sill is mounted to an endof the railway vehicle. The draft gear assembly allows a smoothtransition of loads if the vehicles come to a sudden halt, arecompressed together during descent, or are drawn apart by a following orpreceding vehicle. FIG. 1 depicts a conventional arrangement of thistype where a coupling member 1 is linked by a pin 2 to a yoke 3 whichencircles a draft gear assembly 4. The draft gear assembly 4 is housedwithin a draft sill 5 and has several spring tensioned “pistons” 6 whichprotrude from the draft gear 4 and contact a follower plate 7 which isalso housed within the draft sill 5. The draft gear assembly 4 and thefollower plate 7 are located between and contact a pair of rear stoppermembers 8 and a front striker member 9, respectively. The rear stoppermembers 8 and the striker member 9 are usually electric arc welded,riveted or bolted to the draft sill 5. The front striker member 9 is aone piece casting, or fabrication of multiple metal parts into a singleunit.

[0003] In operation the spring tensioned draft gear assembly 4 cushionsload impact between adjacent vehicles in order to reduce thelongitudinal loading bumps, jars and jolts found in extreme surfaceconditions when moving connected rail vehicles. The coupling memberbetween the vehicles is therefore not subjected to sudden forces whichmay otherwise damage the coupling or delink the rail vehicles. However,a good deal of frictional wear often occurs on the pair of rear stoppingmembers 8 and front striker member 9 which are repeatably struck by thedraft gear assembly 4 and the follower plate 7 respectively. Thisfriction eventually requires the rear stopping members 8 or frontstriker member 9 to be restored or replaced. This is a complicatedprocedure which involves removing the pin 2, yoke 3 and draft gearassembly 4 in order to access the rear stopping member 8 and the frontstriker member 9. These must then be mechanically built-up by welding orcut away from the draft sill 5 and new rear stopping members 8 and/orfront striker member 9 welded into place inside the draft sill 5. Thiscan be an expensive and time consuming task. The draft gear assembly 4and follower plate 7 can also wear significantly and require eventualreplacement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] According to the present invention there is provided a strikerassembly being adapted to mount to a draft sill within which a draftgear assembly is housed, said striker assembly comprising a pair ofopposing front stopping members being detachably mounted within thedraft sill and adapted to transfer loads between adjacent railwayvehicles, via the draft gear assembly and a coupling member operativelycoupled thereto, and a front striker member being detachably mounted tothe draft sill adjacent said front stopping members configured toprovide vertical support for the coupling member.

[0005] Generally the opposing front stopping members and/or the frontstriker member are detachably mounted to the draft sill.

[0006] Preferably the front stopping members are spaced a fixed distancefrom the front striker member via one or more protrusions formedintegral with the front stopping member or the front striker member andconfigured to abut the striker member or the stopping member,respectively. In one example said protrusions are in the form of nibsformed on the front stopping or striker member which predetermines weldpreparation between the front stopping members and the front strikemember.

[0007] Preferably the striker assembly includes a pair of front wearplates of a wear resistance material each adapted to detachably fit toone of the front stopping members, respectively.

[0008] Typically the wear plates are detachably fitted to the respectivestopping member via one or more fasteners. More typically each of thewear plates is detachably fitted to its respective stopping member via abolt and nut.

[0009] Preferably a head of the bolt is countersunk within the wearplate so that the head is flush or beneath the bearing surface of thewear plate. More preferably the wear plates are generally rectangular inshape with the wear plate fitted to the front stopping members having anarcuated cut out section being inwardly facing and adapted toaccommodate and permit reciprocating movement of the coupling member.

[0010] Preferably the striker assembly further comprises a front and arear stopping member each being adapted to detachably fit to the draftsill. More preferably said assembly also comprises a rear wear platedetachably mounted to the rear stopping member, the wear plate includinga bearing surface of a wear resistant material.

[0011] Generally the wear plates are each constructed of a carbon steelwhich is commercially available in Australia under the trade markBISALLOY™.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] In order to achieve a better understanding of the nature of thepresent invention a preferred embodiment of a wear plate and a strikerassembly fitted to a draft sill of a railway vehicle will now bedescribed, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

[0013]FIG. 1 is an elevational view in part section of a conventionalarrangement for linking rail vehicles using a draft gear assembly;

[0014]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view in part section of a draftsill fitted with wear resistant plates and a front striker assemblyaccording to one embodiment of the invention;

[0015]FIG. 3 is a bottom view in part section of the draft sill of FIG.2 together with a draft gear assembly and associated components; and

[0016]FIG. 4 is an elevational view in part section together with an endview of the draft sill and gear assembly of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0017] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 there is a front striker assembly showngenerally as 10 including a pair of opposing front stopping members oneonly of which is shown as 12 and a front striker member 14 all beingdetachably mounted to a draft sill 16 of a conventional construction. Apair of opposing rear stopping members one of which is shown as 18 arealso detachably mounted within the draft sill 16. Importantly, front andrear wear plates such as 20 and 22 are detachably fitted to the frontand rear stopping members 12 and 18, respectively. In this example thewear plates 20 and 22 are each fitted to their respective front and rearstopping members 12 and 18 via a pair of fixing bolts and correspondingnuts such as 24 and 26. A head of the fixing bolts such as 24 arecountersunk within an exposed surface of the wear plate such as 20.

[0018] The front pair of stopping members such as 12 together with thestriking member 14 and the pair of rear stopping members 18 aregenerally welded within the draft sill 16. Importantly, the frontstopping members 12 of this embodiment are provided with protrusions ornibs 28 against which the striker member 14 abuts so as to accuratelyspace the front stopping members 12 and striker member 14. The frontstopping members 12 and striker member 14 are thus independently welded,but may be joined together by weld, or otherwise fixed to the draft sill16 so that should they be damaged they can be replaced separately.However, the front and rear wear plates 20 and 22 are intended topreferentially wear without exposing the front and rear stopping members12 and 18 to frictional wear.

[0019] As best shown in FIG. 3 a draft gear assembly 30 together with afollower plate 32 of a conventional construction are housed within thedraft sill 16 between the front and rear stopping members 12 and 18. Ayoke 34 longitudinally encircles the draft gear assembly 30 in aconventional manner. A connecting pin 36 engages aligned apertures inthe yoke 34 and a coupling member 38. In operation, a rear end of thedraft gear assembly 30 abuts the rear wear plates such as 22 and a frontsurface of the follower plate 32 abuts the front wear plates such as 20.It would be appreciated that the draft gear assembly 30 and followerplate 32 repeatedly strike or abut the front and rear wear plates 20 and22 depending on the tension or compression loading in the couplingmember 38.

[0020] The wear plates such as 20 and 22 are fabricated from a wearresistant carbon steel which in this example is commercially availablein Australia under the trade mark BISALLOY™. However, it should beappreciated that the wear plates may be constructed of practically anywear resistant material which provides a suitable wear resistant surfacefor the draft gear assembly 30 or the follower plate 32. The front andrear plates 20 and 22 are all generally rectangular in shape with thefront rear plates such as 20 including a cut-out being configured toaccommodate and permit reciprocating movement of the coupling member 38.The BISALLOY™ steel is a 350 or 400 grade carbon steel which in thisexample is approximately 10 millimetres in thickness.

[0021] In order to achieve a further understanding of this embodiment ofthe invention, the general steps involved in replacement of one or moreof the described wear plates such as 20 and 22 will now be outlined:

[0022] (i) the connecting pin 36 is retracted from the yoke 34 and thecoupling member 38;

[0023] (ii) the yoke 34 is moved clear of the draft gear assembly 30 andthe follower plate 32;

[0024] (iii) the draft gear assembly 30 and the follower plate 32 areremoved from the draft sill 16;

[0025] (iv) the worn wear plates such as 20 and 22 are unbolted orotherwise detached from the front and/or rear stopping members 12 or 18and replacement wear plates affixed to the stopping members 12 or 18.

[0026] The draft gear assembly 30 and follower plate 32 are thenreassembled within the draft sill 16 in a conventional manner. Themulti-component front striker assembly 10 of this embodiment of theinvention also permits replacement of the front striker member 14independent of the front stopping members such as 12. Furthermore, theprotrusions or nibs 28 provided on the front stopping members 12 allowfor accurate positioning of the replacement front striker member. Itwould be appreciated that the front striker member 14 provides verticalsupport for the coupling member 38.

[0027] Now that a preferred embodiment of the invention has beendescribed it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the wearplates and front striker assembly have the following advantages over theadmitted prior art:

[0028] (i) the wear plates permit relatively quick replacement of wearcomponents without removing the front and/or rear stopping membersmounted within the draft sill;

[0029] (ii) the wear plates provide preferential surfaces independent ofthe front and rear stopping members for repeated abutment and wearimposed by the draft gear assembly and/or follower plate;

[0030] (iii) the striker assembly includes a front striker member whichcan be replaced or at least serviced independent of the front stoppermembers;

[0031] (iv) the wear plates and striker assembly can be retrofitted todraft sills of conventional construction; and

[0032] (v) the application, in the described embodiment, of bolting forattachment of the wear plates lends itself to a relativelystraightforward installation.

[0033] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the wear plate andstriker assembly are susceptible to variations and modifications otherthan those specifically described. For example, the wear plates may bewelded to the front and/or rear stopping members provided they can becut away for replacement. The front striker assembly may vary in detailfrom that described provided it includes a front striker member that canbe replaced independent of the front stopping members. All suchvariations and modifications are to be considered within the scope ofthe present invention the nature of which is to be determined from theforegoing description.

[0034] It is to be understood that, if any prior art information isreferred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission thatthe information forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art,in Australia or any other country.

1. A striker assembly being adapted to mount to a draft sill withinwhich a draft gear assembly is housed, said striker assembly comprising:a pair of opposing front stopping members being detachably mountedwithin the draft sill and adapted to transfer loads between adjacentrailway vehicles, via the draft gear assembly and a coupling memberoperatively coupled thereto; and a front striker member being detachablymounted to the draft sill adjacent said front stopping members andconfigured to provide vertical support for the coupling member.
 2. Astriker assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein the front stoppingmembers are spaced a fixed distance from the front striker member viaone or more protrusions formed integral with the front stopping memberor the front striker member and configured to abut the striker member orthe stopping member, respectively.
 3. A striker assembly as defined inclaim 2 wherein said protrusions are in the form of nibs formed on thefront stopping or striker member.
 4. A striker assembly as defined inclaim 3 wherein the nibs predetermine weld preparation between the frontstopping members and the front striker member.
 5. A striker assembly asdefined in any one of the preceding claims further including a pair offront wear plates of a wear resistance material each adapted todetachably fit to one of the front stopping members, respectively.
 6. Astriker assembly as defined in claim 5 wherein the wear plates aredetachably fitted to the respective stopping member via one or morefasteners.
 7. A striker assembly as defined in claim 6 wherein each ofthe wear plates is detachably fitted to its respective stopping membervia a bolt and nut.
 8. A striker assembly as defined in claim 7 whereina head of the bolt is countersunk within the wear plate so that the headis flush or beneath the bearing surface of the wear plate.
 9. A strikerassembly as defined in any one of the preceding claims furthercomprising a rear stopping member being adapted to detachably fit to thedraft sill.
 10. A striker assembly as defined in claim 9 also comprisinga rear wear plate detachably mounted to the rear stopping member, thewear plate including a bearing surface of a wear resistant material. 11.A striker assembly as defined in any one of the preceding claims whereinthe wear plates are each constructed of a carbon steel.